[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 25, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H5082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              PEACE CORPS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Garamendi) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to introduce the Peace 
Corps Reauthorization Act of 2019.
  I want to thank my returned Peace Corps volunteers;  Joe Kennedy and 
Donna Shalala, the co-chairs of the Peace Corps Caucus; as well as Mr. 
Graves, Mr. Sires, Mrs. Radewagen, and Ms. Shalala for their support as 
original cosponsors.
  Like successive generations of young Americans, my wife, Patti, and I 
answered President John F. Kennedy's call and served in the Peace Corps 
in Ethiopia from 1966 to 1968. This foundational experience inspired 
our lifetime of service that continued into State government in 
California, the Clinton administration, and now the United States 
Congress.
  Since the establishment of the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 230,000 
Americans have volunteered and have served in 141 countries around the 
world. When the Africans fought for their independence, the Peace Corps 
volunteers came, and they were there to assist in the transition in 
countries throughout that continent. They were there as teachers, 
community development, and agriculture, and so that tradition carried 
on in countries all around the world. Today there are some 8,000 Peace 
Corps volunteers in 65 countries.

  Now more than ever, Congress should and must support the Peace Corps 
mission and realize President Kennedy's vision of generations of young 
Americans, ready to serve their Nation and make the world a better 
place and return home to America and continue to educate all Americans 
about what is going on around the world.
  Our Peace Corps Reauthorization Act of 2019 would do just this by 
providing additional Federal resources to better support current, 
returning, and former Peace Corps volunteers by doing the following: 
First, since 2002 the Peace Corps has not been reauthorized. So we 
would pick up that and make the Peace Corps reauthorization good for 
the next 5 years. We would authorize $450 million per fiscal year for 
the Peace Corps, an increase over the flat $410 million that has been 
provided in the current year.
  We would also direct the Peace Corps to establish new volunteer 
opportunities that promote internet adoption and development in 
countries and engage tech savvy American volunteers.
  We would increase the monthly allowance for Peace Corps volunteers 
and leaders to $417 per month of service completed to reflect the 
increase in the cost of living and provide $10,000 for the 2-year full 
term of service.
  We would reform the Peace Corps National Advisory Council that has 
been in abeyance since 1980 by providing that donated funds from a 
qualified nonprofit organization would cover all administrative costs 
for the advisory council with no cost to the taxpayers.
  We would include Respect for Peace Corps Volunteers Act, H.R. 1411, 
sponsored by Congressman Sires of New Jersey since 2013, allowing use 
of the Peace Corps logo in headstones and other funeral materials, in 
recognition of the meaning the deceased's Peace Corps service had for 
their lives.
  We would codify President Kennedy's 1963 executive order affording 
returned Peace Corps volunteers a 12-month hiring preference for most 
Federal job openings and also deal with the shutdowns that occasionally 
occur.

                              {time}  1030

  We would require the Peace Corps and the U.S. State Department Bureau 
of Diplomatic Security to routinely update existing memorandums of 
agreement for Peace Corps volunteer security and consular protection in 
foreign countries.
  We would clarify that American Samoans and other U.S. nationals have 
an opportunity to serve in the Peace Corps as volunteers as well as in 
leadership positions.
  We would also increase the workers' compensation rate for Peace Corps 
volunteers.
  This bipartisan bill builds upon the success of the Sam Farr and Nick 
Castle Peace Corps Reform Act of 2018, public law 115-256, sponsored by 
former Congressman Ted Poe of Texas.
  Our bill also builds upon legislation sponsored by my California 
colleague Sam Farr, who served in the Peace Corps from 1964 to 1966.
  As co-chairman of the Peace Corps Caucus, I am proud to continue the 
work in support of the Peace Corps mission, its volunteers, and the 
indelible impact of their service.
  I ask all Members of Congress to cosponsor this legislation and 
support it. It is important, and I look forward to working with the 
Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairman Engel, and Ranking Member McCaul to 
advance the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act.

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